Wednesday, 25 November 2015

Deadwood Labour (27/02/15)

The Sunday Herald had a great story the other day about local Labour councillors in South Lanarkshire refusing to campaign for the Labour MP, Michael McCann, in the forthcoming general election on 7th May 2015.

Now if local Labour supporters won't campaign for the official party candidate, what is the rest of the electorate meant to think?

Michael McCann has featured on the blog site before, of course, because he is the former deputy leader of South Lanarkshire Council and was a key figure within the Labour-led Council during the long fight for equal pay.

As far as I'm concerned McCann (a former union official by the way) didn't lift a finger to help the thousands of low paid workers who were fighting the Council for equal pay and fair treatment.

So, speaking personally, I hope Michael loses his seat in May because he's a perfect example of how the Labour Party has lost its way in Scotland and if you ask me, he deserves to get slung out of office on 7th May along with a whole host of his Labour colleagues.

Labour MP's campaign in disarray as local councillors refuse to campaign for him

SCOTTISH Labour's campaign in a key Lanarkshire seat is in meltdown after party councillors refused to campaign for a sitting MP.

Leaked emails reveal that Michael McCann, who represents East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow, is facing a revolt after losing the confidence of senior colleagues.

Councillor Susan Kerr, wife of former Labour finance Minister Andy Kerr, said McCann had "done nothing but disrespect myself and many of my council colleagues since he became an MP".

Gerry Convery, another Labour councillor in the area, blasted: "I will not be campaigning for Michael McCann."

McCann, chair of the Scottish group of Labour MPs, won the constituency in 2010 with a 14,503 majority.

However, opinions polls have predicted sweeping SNP gains and East Kilbride is an important target for the Nationalists.

Party insiders say McCann and his predecessor as MP for the area, Adam Ingram, are the power-brokers in the local party but are deeply unpopular with members who dislike their abrasive style.

In 2013, a complaint about the local party was made to Scottish Labour headquarters, a complaint that has not been resolved.

Labour's "voter contact" level in the seat is understood to have been embarrassingly low, which one source said was down to members having no enthusiasm for helping the MP.

Party organiser Gordon McKee emailed local councillors recently about the campaign and said the party was "recording" their activities.

Kerr, a respected councillor for East Kilbride Central South, replied:

"For the record Mr McCann did absolutely nothing in my campaign so I would hope that this lack of activity in the past is also recorded by you."

She said she would campaign for Labour, but noted: "That campaigning will not be for Mr McCann who has done nothing but disrespect myself and many of my council colleagues since he became an MP. I will therefore be campaigning via the elected members telephone bank and in other CLPs but for reasons known to the general secretary I will not be placing myself in the vicinity of Mr McCann, Scott [a local party official] or Ingram."

Convery, a party member for 42 years, wrote:

"I will not be campaigning for Michael McCann and I am happy to explain that to you or anyone else who cares to speak to me.

"When asked by the party centrally regarding the 2015 campaign I have already indicated that I will be active in any target or marginal as directed with the exception of East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow."

Councillor John Cairney, who is registered blind, took umbrage at the tone of the McKee email:

"My personal circumstances make it very very difficult for me to do "normal" campaigning and I found the veiled threat within your email with regard to monitoring highly offensive."

Convery also took exception to the McKee email: "May someone with my years of commitment to this party express my disappointment and indeed sadness at the tone of your email I can only suspect that the tone was fuelled and influenced by a third party."

Dr Lisa Cameron, the SNP candidate for East Kilbride, said:

"These leaked emails are another blow to Jim Murphy, following a disastrous week which saw him having to erase a video after peddling false figures in an attempt to talk down Scotland's NHS.

"Labour's problem is that people in Scotland simply don't trust them anymore, and now it seems they don't even trust each other."

A Scottish Labour spokesperson said: "Scottish Labour's campaigning in East Kilbride is in full swing. We are out knocking on doors with the very clear message that only Labour can stop the Tories being the largest party across the UK."

About Me

Mark is an independent consultant with a wide range of clients in the public, private and 'not for profit' sectors - both in the UK and Europe.
In a previous life, Mark spent 20 years as a senior trade union official - latterly as Unison's Head of Local Government and Chief Negotiator in Scotland. Contact Mark by e-mail at: markirvine@compuserve.com